Author: Tempest

There are many things to love about burlesque but my favourite aspect is the creativity that it allows. When I first started I thought that only one type of music would be correct, only one type of costume, make up, theme, etc. I was very happy to be proven wrong. In my searches for interesting videos and articles for the Moonlight Minxes’ Facebook page I have found gravity-defying aerialists stripping, a fan dance to the beautiful music of a car alarm and an astounding variety of costumes to suit all themes. I have performed as lumberjack, a magician, a doll, a vampire, a ghostbuster and a video game character so far.
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Sequins and Baubles - My First Hafla by Clare
I was asked to perform at my first hafla, the Sequins and Baubles Winter Hafla in Newcastle, as part of the Moonlight Minxes dance troup (cue jokes about how 'I didn't *hafla* do it if I didn't want to' at my apprehension about performing in front of a real live audience, and not just the dance studio mirrors).
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Men Pole Too
Men Pole Too is a Facebook page that I started a year ago on the 9th October 2014 to help educate the world that pole dancing isn’t just for women and that a lot of men do it too. I also created it, in the hope that it could be somewhere that likeminded people could interact, share their photos and stories with everyone else.
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AKA “that time our jaws dropped so low we couldn’t see them”
On July the 22, myself and my lovely partner (who is also a huge pole enthusiast) travelled down in our tiny Citroen C2 from Durham all the way down to London. This 7 hour journey, although filled with traffic, bad weather, and idiot drivers, was worth it as we were on our way to see World Pole Sports Championships (WPSC 2015) where the best pole athletes from all over the world gathered to show off their mad skills. And OH MY POLE, their skills are mad!
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When you find that time for training make sure you get the most from it!
Training can be vast, wide and varied. It can be classes, workshops, private lessons, just you in the studio, research on the internet, stretching in the sitting room or get training whilst you’re out and about! – it all counts.
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As part of a recent Pole Sports competition we asked our students to tell us what pole means to them.
There answers are truly personal and inspiring.
If you are thinking of giving pole a go, trying to find your pole spirit again, looking for a motivational pick me up then check out the stories below!
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What’s In My Dance Bag?
Every dancer (or instructor) gets to a point in their dance career where they have too much dance related stuff to just fit into their handbag when they go to the studio, and their ‘dance bag’ is created. There’s been quite a few blogs of this style lately from pro pole dancers and ballet dancers, and I always think its fascinating to see what everyone takes to their respective classes, so I thought it’d be interesting for you to see what one of your instructors at Tempest takes with them! I’m also frequently asked where I get some of my ballet clothes so I’m including links to anything you might find useful.
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